Armor

Armor is protective equipment worn on the body of characters. Armor functions similarly in Xenoblade Chronicles X as it did in Xenoblade Chronicles. It can be equipped to party members and used to raise various stats in battle.

Much like armor in Xenoblade Chronicles, it comes in different styles for different characters, although unlike in Xenoblade Chronicles most armor in Xenoblade Chronicles X retains its general appearance between characters of the same gender. Having a complete set of armor gives a bonus in combat. However, there are differences between the two games. For example in Xenoblade Chronicles X, lighter armor doesn't increase critical chances and damage.

Contents

Types of Armor

There are six different categories of armor in the game.

Casual Wear - Armor in this category offers little in the way of defense, but usually has more points in resistances and more abilities. While most offer no upgrades, they typically contain one or more augment slots and may have special augments built in. Casual Wear cannot be obtained from enemies. Casual wear has no level requirements.

Light Wear - Slightly more defense than casual armor, a little less resistances than casual armor, and usually contain some abilities.

Medium Wear - Higher defense than Light armor, with a penalty to Gravity Resistance and often fewer upgrades.

Heavy Wear - Much higher defenses than medium, but comes at a much greater penalty to Gravity Resistance and has limited upgrades.

Skell Wear - Gear made only by Sakuraba Industries and Grenada Galactic Group, designed to empower Skells while piloting one. Has more upgrades but has limited effectiveness in ground combat. Some pieces of Skell wear have built-in augments which affect Skells, although Skell augments can not be equipped in any empty augment slots.

Upgrading Armor

Built-in augments on armor can be upgraded with the AM Terminal's "Upgrade Battle Traits" function. Every armor piece has an "Upgrade x/x" stat. This indicates how many times the armor's abilities have been upgraded out of the maximum allowed. Salvaged armor has more upgrades than store-bought armor.

Resistances

Resistances are an armor mechanic in Xenoblade Chronicles X. These act as modifiers to incoming damage of the specified type. Positive resistance values decrease damage taken by that percentage, while negative resistance values increase damage taken.

The following resistances can be found on armor:

Physical Resistance

Beam Resistance

Ether Resistance

Thermal Resistance

Electric Resistance

Gravity Resistance

Tiers

In addition to type, armor is also divided into tiers. Armor that share a tier have the same level requirements in order to be equipped, and each tier is ten levels higher than the previous. Armor from Six Stars have tiers that are named differently from armor tiers for other Arms Manufacturers. The armor tiers are:

Level

Name

Six Stars Name

Typical Colors

5

Survival

N/A

Varies

15

Combat

N/A

Purple

25

Vivid

Warrior's

Green

35

Valor

Vanquisher's

Blue

45

Forza

Overlord's

Orange / Brown

55

Reginal

Mother God's

Red

60

Ultra Regal

Deific

Black / Dark Red

60

Ultra Infinite

Boundless

Gold

Note: Level 60 armors are not purchasable from the Shop Terminal and must instead be obtained from high-leveled enemies.

Worn and Advanced

Salvaged armor may be "Worn" (can be equipped three levels earlier) or "Advanced" (slightly stronger but requires three more levels).

Worn armor is usually obtained from enemies in level ranges which end in 1 to 5 (1-5, 11-15, 21-25, etc.), while Advanced armor is usually obtained from enemies in level ranges that end in 6-0 (6-10, 16-20, 26-30, etc.).

It is possible for an enemy to, more rarely, drop armor from the tier above. For example, a level 32 enemy could rarely drop an Advanced Valor armor piece (normally Worn Valor), and a level 59 enemy could rarely drop an Ultra Regal armor piece (normally Advanced Reginal). This is the only way to obtain some Ultra Regal and Ultra Infinite armor sets, as there may not be any compatible enemies in the level range for Ultra Regal/Ultra Infinite.

Casual Wear

Casual Wear is named differently depending on the type of clothing. Workwear and high-tech gear have different names from street clothes, while full-body clothing and headwear from Treasure Boxes have unique names. The armor tiers for Casual Wear are in ascending value:

Bargain/Prototype

Armor

Limited

Redesigned/Upgraded

Prime

Ultra Limited/Upgraded Armor II

Supreme.

Color schemes of normal armor usually follow a trend beyond the lowest tier: purple for Combat, green for Vivid, blue for Valor, orange or brown for Forza, red for Reginal, black and dark red for Ultra Regal, and gold for Ultra Infinite. Casual Wear body and leg armor has four variants, while head armor has three.

Sakuraba Industries

Available after completing Chapter 3. Armour has generally high defense, and specializes in resistance to Physical damage, with augments to bolster general stats such as HP and Melee Attack. It also produces BLADE wear, with similar defense but alternative augments, and Skell wear, with much lower defensive traits and drive based augments.

Grenada Galactic Group

Available after completing Chapter 3. Armour has generally lower than average defense, with heavy emphasis on beam resistance, and augments focused on specifically different boosts to Sakuraba wear, such as Ranged attack and TP. It also produces Skell wear with much lower defensive stats and drive variations of their main augments.

Meredith and Co.

Available after completing Chapter 4. Armour has generally high defense, with a focus on equal resistance to both beam and ether damage, at the cost of some physical resistance, and augments with emphasis on situational support effects, such as Antispike

Candid and Credible

Available after completing Chapter 5. Armour has the best defense of any manufacturer, with singular focus on resistance to Electric damage, at the expense of resistance to Beam attacks, and augments which provide a balanced spread of offence, defence, and support.

Orphean Technologies

Available after completing the mission Rescue at the Ensconced Citadel. Armour has the lowest defense of any manufacturer by a large margin, but the unique trait of providing resistance to Gravity damage, which all other armour varieties struggle with, excluding Skell wear. Their augments focus on Evasion based enhancements, and defensive buffs.

Six Stars

Available after completing the affinity mission A Challenger Approaches. Armour has unique naming conventions, and moderate defense, with a singular focus on Thermal resistance, at the cost of some Beam resistance. Their augments mirror the Wrothian's own war practice and are attack and aggro focused.

Armor Drops by Enemy

Most enemy species have ground armor as part of their drop tables. Every member of a species that drops armor will always drop pieces of the same armor set, as detailed below. Of these species, some drop armor that is unlocked later in the game or at a high AM Level. These species drop different armor if they are at or below the minimum purchasable level for the non-default armor sets. They are marked with ※, and only for the low-leveled variants. Puges and Pugiliths drop ground armor, but only if they are level 10 or below.

Fashion Gear

Fashion Gear allows a character to use the stats from one piece of armor while having the appearance of a different piece. Fashion Gear can be equipped from the Ground Gear menu by pressing X and selecting "Change Fashion Gear". Fashion Gear can be removed from within the Change Fashion Gear menu by pressing X and selecting "Remove Gear". Armor cannot be equipped as Fashion Gear if the character does not meet the minimum level to wear it.